We heart Minecraft {or} A very Geeky Christmas

Filed under {better late than never} a recap of Christmas 2011. December was filled to the brim with two ill-conceived, last minute CRAZY OVER THE TOP sewing projects that were the brain-child of my dear, sweet, crazy, pain in the ass husband. In late November, he asked {all innocently}what I thought about sewing a few SIMPLE quilts for Cam and Bo {13 and 12 yr old sons}. I knew they had been OBSESSED with this game MINECRAFT for about 6 months and he thought they might enjoy some super geeky themed quilts. I was all game, since I had just painted them super simple cardboard masks for Halloween and the design seemed like it would be straightforward. Yeah. I was SO NAIVE.

As soon as I agreed to whip up some quilts, I promptly forgot all about it.

...

Fast forward to FOUR WEEKS BEFORE CHRISTMAS and my dear pain in the ass husband asks me if I am ready to talk about proposed quilt patterns and a Joann's shopping list. And then he shows me the pattern he made on excel and it wasn't a lap quilt. It wasn't just a 64-square creeper face.

{creeper face aka what I was expecting to recreate}

 It was  INTRICATE. It was SCARY. Yeah. Did I mention I had only ever made ONE quilt before IN MY LIFE? And that I REGULARLY question the sanity of quilters and their need to cut up PERFECTLY GOOD FABRIC only to SEW IT ALL BACK TOGETHER AGAIN? Yeah. True Story.

So, then I dove head first into these crazy projects. And while they are FAR FROM PERFECT, the recipients loved them and I think they turned out pretty damn awesome.

This is C's {Steve with an axe}

And this is B's {A zombie with a pig}

{the girls were so pleased with new dolls, they didn't notice there were no quilts for them}

I don't plan to do a full tutorial of the quilt because I am ready to put the whole, painful incident behind me. But I would be happy to share my excel pattern file and basic quilting concept {that I am fairly certain breaks EVERY SINGLE QUILTING LAW EVERY WRITTEN} with anyone crazy enough interested. Just email me or leave a comment :)  I lost the excel file in the harddrive crash of 2012 :( SORRY! Yeah, because all those blue squares? I cut apart blue fabric and then re-sewed it all back together so it looked like pixels. Hell. Yes. True story.

My husband turned 40! {or} Life is HARD sometimes. But always GOOD.

{In as few complain-y words as possible, an update as to where I have been, for those that wonder: The mysterious sickness is still affecting my 12 year old son {he was attending school in a wheelchair up until 2 weeks ago- now he is on homebound. Ugh.}; Threw husband a surprise 40th Birthday party, complete with secret out-of-town guest - my mother in law!; Took trip number 9 {in less than 2 years} to Chicago for 8 yr old's JDM check-up; My oldest son broke his arm at football practice; .... And then? Life in general. Plus, I have been cheating on this blog with my other lover: sheknows.com. Although I don't know that many more people read my drivel over there than over here? The pay is MUCH better :) Check out the most recent articles here,here,here and here.}

Now. Onto the fun!

Because I am COMPLETELY INSANE, in the midst of all of my chaos, I decided to throw my dear husband a surprise 40th birthday party. Thank GOD I had TONS of help from my great friend, the SHARYNATOR {and her entire family} and MY MOM!!!! and too many other people to name. I DO get by with the help of my friends{and family}, there is NO DOUBT.. I am lucky because Michael does not pay attention to ANYTHING that is happening around him. Plus? He pretty much doesn't much pay attention to ANYTHING I say. Pulling off a surprise party for someone as easy going as him? ALMOST easy as pie. {I did end up spilling the beans the morning of the party that I had something planned because Piper was super sick with asthma and needed to go to the doctor and Michael was nearly HORRIFIED I was planning on stepping out for a bit to take care of some more pressing matters and when I requested he take care of things? Yeah. Our marriage may not have survived that. Oh well.

  

There was a FREAKING DUST STORM at the beginning of the party. I nearly DIED. So much work could have just blown away. Luckily it blew just a little and was dusty for only a bit. And then there was a rainbow.

Crisis averted. 

{this is me asking if I should move the stereo inside.}

{or? making a fool of myself on the mic. Probably the latter.}
{if we are ever at a party, even if I am not drinking? PLEASE don't ever let me have the microphone.}

{a lot of times my husband looks like a Chester. It's a shame, but he knows.}
{admitting is the first step fo real fo real.}

I am going to TRY to keep the pictures light, but PLEASE feel free to pop on over to flickr to check out all the tomfoolery :)

One of my favorite projects was the mustache straws. They were super hilarious!
I just love that the 'stache is so popular right now. 

{inspiration here}

Equally enjoyable was the drink tags. I stamped random 4 letter words {some 5 when I ran out of kid-friendly words}on metal rimmed key tags and just hole-punch and tied them to the plastic glasses {for kids}and around the rim of the mason jars {for the adults}Like glass charms or name tags, only MORE HILARITY ENSUED.

The photo booth was AWESOME. Seriously. I am going to set one up at EVERY PARTY FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE. It was super simple. SUPER SIMPLE. I will dedicate a post to how I set mine up soon. For now? My fav pics:

{is this perfectly timed confetti throwing or WHAT?! love it :)}

{my niece, katelynne.}

{c, dressed for Homecoming - it was a masquerade theme}

{the birthday boy and his momma, who flew all the way in from Michigan to surprise him!}

I kept the food simple and crowd-friendly. My mom made most of the food and prepared just about everything for dinner.
{I know I am lucky. My mom rocks.}

{the cupcake table- chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter frosting. gluten free for our family.}

inspiration for the lollipop jar

Can we all just agree that the cupcake toppers are some of my MOST HILARIOUS work? I still LOL when I see them!!!!

Sadly, I didn't get a picture of the drink table once it was completely set up. Sad. So, so sad. You'll just have to trust me, it was CUTE. And the pomegranate margaritas from Costco? SUPER DELICIOUS and why my face is red in most of the later night pictures. I don't know what it is, but I may be allergic to tequila. Bummer.

Wow. I totally lied when I said I was going to keep the pictures light. Don't hold it against me, ok? I hope we can still be friends, but I totally understand if you never want to speak to me again, especially if you are on dial-up. Until next time, friend.

{gluten free} pumpkin muffins with maple cream cheese frosting - make this now.

My great friend, The Sharynator {as in - a fun combo of her name and The Terminator? Get it? Yep. I am a great friend.} bought me a can of pumpkin a few weeks ago, after we had just heard about the great pumpkin shortage of 2010 and started to kind of PANIC and FREAK THE FRACK OUT because we noticed our local grocer was not stocking the pumpkin like they used to but then she spotted it on the shelves of another market. {Food Ciiiiiiii-Tay! - if you've ever shopped there, you know what I mean. I LOVE shopping there. Especially FRIDAYS!} and picked us each up a big ol' can. {oh holy run on sentence} And I have been staring at it ever since, because my trusty pumpkin bread recipe just isn't going to work this year {since we've been gluten-free since January} and I hate to waste time making things that are going to end up tasting like sadness. BUT I have tried to start to give myself credit for finally getting a handle on what gf flours work for what and so I decided {after a successful foray into making pancakes with what I had on hand vs an actual recipe}to try to modify my bread recipe into gf muffins. They turned out SO DELICIOUS I am going to share them with you:

Ingredients needed to make 24 regular sized muffins + 24 mini muffins:

{Halve the recipe to make about 18 regular sized muffins}

• 1 c unsalted butter {2 sticks}, softened
• 1/2 c brown sugar, packed
• 1 1/2 c granulated sugar
• 2 tbsp honey
• 4 large eggs
• 2 tsp gf vanilla extract
• 2 c canned pumpkin
• 1 1/2  c gluntinous rice flour {widely available at asian or int'l supermarkets for VERY inexpensive- I can get it in AZ for about 99 cents a pound}
• 1 c sorghum flour
• 1 c tapioca starch
• 1/2 c almond flour
• 2 tsp guar gum
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp cloves
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1 cup buttermilk {you can substitute powdered buttermilk + water}

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line your muffin tins with paper liners OR grease and flour the cavities. In a large bowl, combine your dry ingredients: the flours, guar gum, soda, powder and spices. In a stand mixer, cream together the butter, sugars and honey until well combined, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each egg. Add vanilla and pumpkin and beat until well mixed. Add the buttermilk and flour, alternating between the two, until everything is mixed together. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake for 18-20 minutes. Cool on wire rack.

To make the delicious frosting, whip together 1/2 c softened butter, 1 block softened cream cheese, 2 cups powdered sugar, 1 tsp maple flavoring and 2 tbsp half and half. {start by adding 1 tbsp and add 1 tsp at a time until you reach your desired frosting consistency. Add more half and half as needed} Frost your muffins once they are completely cooled. ENJOY!

Gluten free baking does not need to be scary :)

Its true, they let me on LIVE tv - How I spent 4 minutes focusing on not F-bombing it.

{my television debut}

....

In case you don't follow me on twitter, I was on this local show yesterday doing a craft demo. It's true. Me. Tv. Live. Insanity. Big hair, hambone arms, double chin and all. Here's the low-down. I was worried about f-bombing it or a nip slip THE. ENTIRE. TIME. Its truly absurd since I can actually be out in public and not riddle my conversations with vulgarity. {shut-up, Heather.} I have NEVER just casually shown anyone my nipple. Really. For REAL. I can be trusted {most of the time} in polite society and not embarrass anyone. But for some reason? I thought surely all hell was going to break loose when these people let ME of all people on LIVE tv. Oh, man. But, besides that? I wasn't nervous at all. In fact, I was on my BEST BEHAVIOR and apparently not as sassy as everyone expected! 

...

I will do better, next time.... which just so happens to be next Thursday, August 25th when I am going to appear on Sonoran Living.... If you are in Arizona, please tune in if you can :)

Keeping me busy.

I recently had the opportunity to do several fun crafting tutorials for sheknows.com. 

If you get a chance, go check 'em out :)

4 easy ways to embellish a plain tank top:

http://www.sheknows.com/living/articles/835499/4-easy-ways-to-embellish-a-plain-tank-top

How to sew a new bloomin' pillow slipcover (SO EASY!)

http://www.sheknows.com/living/articles/835493/how-to-sew-a-new-slipcover-for-a-throw-pillow

How to DIY a pet ID tag

http://www.sheknows.com/living/articles/835471/how-to-make-a-pet-id-tag

Upcycle an old sweater into a DOG SWEATER!

http://www.sheknows.com/living/articles/835477/sewing-a-dog-sweater

DIY a pet leash

http://www.sheknows.com/living/articles/835475/how-to-make-a-creative-dog-leash

Yep  - it's a litterbox cover. LOL

http://www.sheknows.com/living/articles/835473/how-to-make-a-litter-box-cover

How to make personalized pillow cases

http://www.sheknows.com/living/articles/835489/how-to-make-personalized-pillowcases-for-kids

Make an initial bookbag

http://www.sheknows.com/living/articles/835491/how-to-sew-a-simple-bookbag

Make a scrapbooking supply carry-all

http://www.sheknows.com/living/articles/835479/how-to-make-a-chic-scrapbooking-bag

I am DYING over our little terrier, Chuy, in that sweater! It was about 110 the day we had that photo shoot and he HANDLED IT LIKE A CHAMP! And for the record? He was agreeable to sitting on my ironing board for that particular shot. What my kids could learn from him.... :)

A new couch needs some new deco {or} I made a wreath and a pillow, Amen.

The weekend is just about over and my sweet kiddos have a wee bit less than one week of school left. Hot damn. This was one of those weekends that feels like it was already over before it even started! I scored LOTS of AWESOMENESS at the Goodwill half price sale Saturday morning {with bestie Heather - she got some AWESOME GOODS,too!}{things I WANTED!}{she was all MEAN and bought the stuff SHE FOUND FIRST!}{RUDE}{I kid.}I am MOST EXCITED about a certain DUCK LAMP! {Heather tried to talk me out of it.}{I think because SHE wanted it :)}

I am trying to get as much crafting in as possible before the kids are out for the summer. I don't know what this summer is going to be like- we don't have a vacation planned, its our first summer in this {much smaller} house and we are STILL adjusting to the fact that Kenny can't go outside from 10-4 everyday. You would think after almost 2 years I WOULD GET IT ALREADY. But its still freshly shocking when I forget, and regress back to the 'let's get season passes to the local waterpark' mindset. And then someone {normally, Kennedy} points out that I am forgetting something VERY IMPORTANT. Boo.

I also whipped up this simple sewing themed wreath, for my sewing room {of course!} It LITERALLY took me 5 minutes. I LOVE super simple projects that come out just like I imagined them to.

This dollar store wreath is wrapped in super cheap {red striped} jute upholstery webbing.

I made a rose-ette out of a long metal zipper {left over from my couch project}a vintage tomato pin cushion {does everyone have a million of these laying around?} and a vintage spool measuring tape. Done and done.

Well. Its 10:47 am on Sunday and I am headed back to bed for a much needed nap. {went out with girlfriends and my cutie sister last night and didn't QUITE get enough sleep!}

Please.

Don't judge.